The entire rescue community is shocked at the new trends on TikTok where creators will torment their reactive dogs to attack them or a microphone for views/likes.  We are saddened that TikTok will not ban this type of content and is subjecting many other small reactive dogs to be tormented by their owners to copycat these successful TikTok Creator Accounts. 

I encourage your team to reach out to the many animal behaviorists that have condemned these accounts and their continued harassment of animals.  Animal abuse is not just in the form of physical pain.  Animals can experience psychological pain when they are antagonized to react aggressively for content.  There are many kids who use the TikTok platform and will attempt to copycat this behavior with their dogs and can suffer injury by doing this with the wrong dog.  

Every dog trainer with great reputations on Tik Tok have openly condemned the actions of users like PudgyWoke.  They can explain the psychology behind the dog's behavior and constantly being tormented to the point of lashing out at their owners.  The users of TikTok think that this behavior is cute, but it's only a matter of time before other users get hurt doing this to their dogs.  

As an animal rescuer I have seen dogs euthanized for biting their owners.  If kids imitate this behavior they can cause their dogs to reactive aggressively and be euthanized for that behavior.  

I challenge your team to engage in discussions with experienced dog trainers to confirm that these accounts are not abusing their animals.  I strongly believe that not one reputable dog trainer in the United States will agree with this creator's content.  Respectfully this area of expertise should be left up to the dog behaviorists and your team should be consulting with them in good faith to ensure that you are not supporting abusive content.  Not all dog abuse is physical.  You can also engage in discussions with the animal welfare organizations you already partner with to determine if this content is putting even more dogs at risk of being agitated to the point of attacking their owners.  It's "cute" when it's a small dog. But when a user does this to a larger dog it can cost that dog his life.  Where do you draw the line?

TikTok defines Dangerous Acts as Follows:

Dangerous acts
We define risky activities or other dangerous behavior as acts conducted in a non-professional context or without the necessary skills and safety precautions that may lead to serious injury or death for the user or the public. We do not allow content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies such behavior, including amateur stunts or dangerous challenges.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that shows the potentially inappropriate use of dangerous tools, vehicles, or objects
Content that depicts or promotes ingesting substances that are not meant for consumption or could lead to severe harm
Dangerous games, dares, or stunts that might lead to injury

- Tormenting a dog to react aggressively towards the owner promotes Dangerous Acts.  These creators are not professionals training aggressive animals.  They are owners who are attempting to gain views by triggering their aggressive dogs to react.